Across 110th Street, Public Art Takes Root In Harlem

by SIDDHARTHA MITTER

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Marcus Garvey Park, like all of Harlem, is contested space. It was named for the Pan-Africanist leader in 1973, but the adjoining landmarked district retains the old name, Mount Morris Park. The park was the site of a quintessential gentrification quarrel in 2008, when residents of a new building on its edge attempted to have the long-running Saturday drum circle shut down. The drummers had to change location; a Parks Department sign indicates their current approved site in the park’s northeast quadrant.